Philippians 4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Admittedly… when everything went up in chaos, we as a family were shaken. We heard news of schools closing, business closing, stores running out of toilet paper, panic and fear all around us. We were shaken, with 3 little kids, a business shutting down, a church banned from gathering – instincts kicked in. As a brave husband, I sent my wife to do grocery shopping at 10pm. She saw huge lineups and people buying up everything! When she reached the cashier she asked her what was the highest bill… who was the craziest in this time of turmoil? The cashier told her someone bought over $600 worth of groceries! Then I looked at our receipt and we spent almost $400 in groceries! We were in the top 1/3 of panic buyers!
God began to convict us both. We were so focused on self preservation we forgot to recognize that there were so many out there that didn’t have $400 for groceries and some couldn’t even get what they needed at the grocery store. We started to “Rejoice in the Lord always”.
In response to the conviction Karyne posted on facebook a post that if anyone was in need, to message her and we would do our best to help… “Let your gentleness be evident to all”. Shortly after a lady in Hamilton messaged and asked for help. She needed baby wipes, lysol and baby formula as she has a 1 month old baby and all the stores around her (no car) do not have supplies. We gathered the items from our home and took the whole family for a car ride to Hamilton to drop the items to this family.
The lady was extremely grateful and has been in communication with Karyne ever since. This is now a family we can pray for that we would never have prayed for before.
This simple act calmed our spirit – “Do not be anxious about anything” – it reminded us that we are truly Blessed to be a Blessing and our spirits aligned with Him. Peace, because God is King and nothing will ever change that – “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”.
Lifespring family… if you are overwhelmed with tasks, responsibilities, worry, anything that is troubling your spirit. Look to Jesus – only He knows the way.
Father I pray that as a Family we will always go to YOU. You are King and You are the provider. When this whole world shakes and falls apart. You still remain.
Please use this link and just spend some time worshiping our God!
You Are God Alone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xPzTSpbYmk
Great Are You Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHz0w-HG4iU